My resolutions this year are different than last year. While I do have some specific, personal things I want to accomplish in the next 12 months (getting back to my running regime, never using the words ‘epic’ and ‘fail’ again…), they’re pretty insignificant in the larger scheme of things. So here are my top 5: 

5. Look closely. Life happens all around. I have friends who have travelled the world and  don’t have much to report. I also have other friends who can walk down the street and see the whole world. I want to be the latter. 

4. Listen intently. We all have amazing stories to tell. Stories of love and tragedy. Of heartbreak and redemption. Of grace and growth. God is in the process of redeeming all of creation, but sometimes noise drowns out the tale. In 2011, I will listen more intently to Christ’s story in and around me. 

3. Tell boldly. What good is a story without an audience? What good is tragedy if the triumph is never told? I want to 'tell better'–not in a preacher-on-a-street-corner-kind-of-way, but like a painter who can't help but paint. I want to creatively use every color, every hue, every nuance to tell the story so that it resonates with us and accurately reflects the love God has shown.

2. Love completely. When I die, the only things that will eternally matter are my relationships–with Christ and with His Bride. If I speak with the tongues of men and angels but don’t have love……if I feed the poor and don’t  have love….if I have faith that moves mountains or knowledge that understands crazy, theological secrets, and don’t have love…then what good is it?

1. Spend 2011 awake and wondering. Life gets hectic and it’s easy to autopilot through each day without engaging in the wonder of life and creation. Recreation is re-creation. Wonder begets wonder. Like Neo taking the red pill, I want to see how far the rabbit hole goes…

What about you? What are you striving towards in 2011? Did you make any resolutions? I'd love for you to share…perhaps together we can spur each other on towards living 2011on purpose. 

Stretch. No one likes to. Everyone needs to. 

Run hard. If you only do what you’ve always done, you’ll only get what you’ve always gotten. You have to push yourself to experience something new. 

Run everyday. If you only run on Sundays, you’re not going to see much, if any, progress. So, if you want to be a runner and only run one day a week, ….then good luck with that. 

Rest. Everyone needs time to recover. Restore. Refuel. Re-create. And recreation is re-creation. 

Don’t run alone. Most of us enjoy the zen-like solitude of running. But the fact is that it’s dangerous. Dogs. Cars. Construction. Even a sprained ankle is dangerous when you’re alone. Hurt and alone is a prescription for a dangerous fall. 

It reminds me of I Corinthians 9:24-27: 

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (ESV)

Hebrews 12:1 says to 'lay aside every weight…and run the race before us.'

I dare you to run this week. Are you up for what it can teach you? 

Last weekend, I ran in the Chuy’s Hot to Trot 5k with some bandmates (and their spouses) to raise money for Special Olympics. A very small race by serious runners’ standards, but we had a blast. Although none of us had seriously trained for the actual race, I was very much reminded why I love running and, more importantly, why the Apostle Paul uses the analogy for our Christian journey. 

I always run better in a pack. I actually enjoy training and running by myself. It gives me time to unplug. Unwind. Clear out the cobwebs. Reboot my priorities. But, left to my own, I never run a per-minute mile as fast as I do when there are other runners around. They make me faster. They make me push harder. And they make me less tired. The momentum of the crowd is contagious and it always changes the way I run. As a believer, I need other runners alongside me. My spiritual life simply ‘runs’ better. It’s in our DNA to thrive on community and fellowship and relationships. 

The race is reward. Things like stress management, weight control, cardiovascular health, etc., are simply byproducts of the real reward. The real reward is the camaraderie and brotherhood among a crowd of otherwise-strangers. Carbon-based life forms of all shapes, sizes, colors, languages, and skill come together under a single cause. And, if only for a morning, we are one. It sounds outright silly…unless you’re a runner. The reward is the ‘we’ that is found in the race. Like church, what we do on race-day-Sunday is a continuation of what we’ve been doing all week long at home and work and school. The ‘we’ is what makes it different. And how pleasing it is when children of all sizes, shapes, colors, languages, and ‘skill’ levels meet together for worship. 

It reminds me to run MY race. As a novice, it can be easy to be intimidated by experienced runners who may be in better shape. Or have longer legs. Or newer shoes.  Or…whatever. In a world that tries to make us all similar, it’s nice to be reminded that we are all different. The truth is that I am responsible to run my best and to be an encouragement and help to others in the race. If I can do those two things, I’ll be miles ahead of many in the crowd.

As with each race I run, it makes me want to run more. Longer. Harder. Hotter. Sweatier. To those on the sidelines, it may sound crazy. George S. Patton, U.S. Army General and 1912 Olympian, once said :

"if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing.

You have to make the mind run the body.

Never let the body tell the mind what to do.

The body will always give up.

It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night.

But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired." 

Paul told the church in Rome to ‘renew your mind’. 

He told the church in Corinth, ‘I beat my body and make it my slave’. 

I’m still learning those things, so I’m still running. And I’ve learned that, if you’re bored, it’s because you’re on the sidelines when you should be running.

Funny how things in your life collide.

I grew up as the sickly, skinny little asthma boy with dark circles under his eyes, who carried his inhaler to school every day. I learned to play guitar because I couldn’t run and play outside much without having an asthma attack. I learned to enjoy reading because I was confined to the bed and to homemade ‘tents’ for the majority of my preschool and elementary years. Well-meaning parents and doctors repeatedly told me to ‘take it easy’ and ‘don’t push too hard’. I only played two seasons’ worth of little league baseball and never played any organized football. Now after 40 years, I’m 4 days away from participating in my first half-marathon.  To say I’m excited would be like saying the sun is a little warm.

It’s hard to explain, but I’ve never understood it until lately. I like running  (I think I’m becoming addicted, actually) because it’s a challenge. If you run hard, there’s definitely pain – and you’ve got to work your way through the pain. Lately it seems all I’ve heard is ‘Don’t overdo it’ and ‘Don’t push yourself.’ which is, well, ….moronic. If you push the human body, it will respond. Your threshold for physical pain raises, as well as your mental threshold. You realize that God designed our bodies to withstand and work in the midst of pain, sometimes with amazing results. Yet we’ve developed a fear of pain and a need to avoid it.

I remember when we were pregnant with our first child. We took childbirth classes at a Waco hospital. During the first night, we met a 15-year-old mom-to-be and her mother in our class. After watching the first video (you know the one!), the girl turned to her mother and said, "I don’t think I can do this…". Lovingly, her mom replied, "Sure you can. There will be lots of pain, but you’ll do fine." You could almost see the message on her face as she wished that birth control could somehow be retroactive..or that she could simply hit fast-forward and skip over the labor pains.

Church is much like that as well.

We forget that progress is not painless. Many times what we want is some kind of spiritual birth control– where we can fast forward through all the church’s failures and frustrations  and get to being this deeper, wiser, group of God-like beings. (i.e. give birth to great things without having birth pains or doo-doo to clean up).

It’s good to remember that just because church people have the ability to match their clothes, facilitate some great small group, or belt out on-key worship lyrics does not necessarily mean they have pure thought lives, a solid marriage, or the ability to always act like true representatives of God. I would think that this is obvious. However, whenever we experience pain at the fallibility of the church, we are still surprised. Apparently, the fact that the humans who run the church are flawed is a new revelation to some. And the pain that brings is suprising.

While imprisoned by other Christians, the 16th century priest St. John of the Cross, wrote a series of reflections entitled the Dark Night of the Soul. In it, he described how the pain present in our normal life routines is a useful element of the Christian experience. As the pain slows us down and forces us into sometimes tense reflection, we often see things in the darkness that we would never see in the light.

Paul says, in effect, that our suffering leads to hope (Romans 5:3-5) I’m beginning to believe that painful moments define the Church just as much or more than the bright ones. Those moments of pain also define us as well. Tyler Durden calls it ‘premature enlightenment’.

As Three Days Grace so aptly puts it in the video below, "I’d rather feel pain than nothing at all.."

Click here to view the embedded video.

Today, I am 24 days out from the Austin Marathon extravaganza. My training has begun to taper back (so I don’t get injured at the last minute), which is good because I’m beginning to get bored (ususally a precursor to burnout). Yesterday I ran in the frigid drizzle to prove my commitment….sort of. I ran because I didn’t really feel like it. I’m to the point that I think I could go run my 13.1 miles today and do OK, so my tendency is to coast. Slack. But training for this thing is not something I do because I feel like doing it. It’s something I have committed myself to. It’s something I am doing because….if I don’t do it now, I may never do it. I will wait another year, another season, and buy into the lie that "I’m just not a runner."  The cold, hard fact is that I am NOT a runner. But I have already put my hand to the plow.

I called my buddy, Lance, who’s a strength trainer for the UT program here in Austin, and asked for advice last week because of the way I was feeling. His words of wisdom were this: "Trust your training".  That’s it? Years of college and all you got is ‘trust your training’?  "Yup. Stick to the schedule. Don’t waver from what’s tried and true. Train correctly and you’ll run successfully."

Trust your training. I think that would be good theology as well. Christ gives us a plan for a new kingdom: "Preach the good news. Love your enemies. Bless those that persecute you. Feed the hungry. Walk with Me…" But I get tired…sometimes bored. When the excitement and novelty fades, it feels like we do the same thing over and over and over…especially if you’re running alone.

And my tendency is to coast. To not love so much. Not bless as much. Not feed…or walk…as…much. Paul (I haven’t gotten over it yet..) admonishes Timothy to ‘train yourself to be godly’, literally to "sweat yourself to godliness".

So I beat my body (1 Cor 9:27) and make it my slave. I’ll trust my Trainer and his plan and see how it goes…

[latin. 'the die is cast', spoken by Julius Caesar upon crossing the Rubicon.]

Now there’s no turning back. Today I’ve officially registered for the AT&T Austin Half-Marathon (13.1 miles). A good friend asked me at our retreat this last weekend, "What’s your goal?" (She’s a tall, lean, college-age runner….ugh.)

"To finish in a vertical position."

1. Starbucks.  ($-any amount) A no-brainer to keep me going and going and going. Black and strong, please. And keep ‘em coming.

2.  Frilly Pink Tutu, ($14). After all, this IS Austin.and because if you have never run a marathon while wearing a frilly pink tutu – especially if you’re a man, and doubly especially if you’re a large, hairy man – you haven’t lived. (Photo of Tutu Man courtesy of Fast Tracks Running Club.)

3. A Gross of Black Cotton Gloves ($0.15) No kidding, this site offers 100% Cotton Light Weight "Inspector Gloves" at 15 cents a pair. Seriously.

4.Vaseline ($4.50) Next to a dog, it’s a runner’s best friend. Apply liberally. You’ll figure out where.

5. Custom Running Shirt ($31 and up) Avoid looking like everyone else in the 13,000-people herd at the Austin Marathon. For as little as 31 bucks, you can have a professionally printed running shirt with your name or slogan, courtesy of RunningBanana.com.

5. Air Horn ($36) Nothing says "YOU ARE IN MY WAY" better than an air horn. Clear crowded sidewalks and narrow paths of pesky walkers, skateboarders,  and oblivious powerwalking moms with this 120dB beauty.

6. Adult Diapers ($15) Because stopping for a potty break during a race can cost you precious seconds – assuming there’s a Porta-Potty there at all. After all, if it works for psycho, stalker astronauts….

7. Baggy Shorts ($40) You know, to hide the fact that you’re wearing adult diapers.

8. "Who Fartlek’d?" Organic Cotton T-shirt ($23)
This features:
•    4.8 oz. Ultra fine combed ring spun organic cotton, great for layering
•    Vintage fit (size up for a looser fit)
•    Made in the U.S.A.
•    Hilarity

*note: Fartlek, which means "speed play" in Sweedish, is a form of conditioning which puts stress mainly on the aerobic energy system due to the continuous nature of the exercise…see the entire wiki defintion here.

I am just a simple, stupid creature.

Some online resources I’ve found helpful are below:

Thinnmann’s Running Log

Marathon Rookie

Running Towards Fitness

Favorite Run – log in and map your running routes (better than Google Maps)

Triflex (glucosamine/chondriotin/MSM supplement)

Saucony (the absolute best for moderate pronators like me)

Starbucks (gotta gotta keep going, right?)